Pygmy Swiftlet in good light

[Romy Ocon]

Aside from its very small size (3-1/2 inches total length) and erratic flight behavior, what makes this bird tough to catch in mid-air is its dark plumage - a difficult job even for the 7D MII's excellent AF system. In addition, one has to be extremely lucky with the direction of light to illuminate the dark face well.

This Valentine's Day, I saw a few of these microbirds flying around Bued River. It took many tries and misses before I managed to get one sharp, with the light angle just right to bring out the bird's dark features.

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Pygmy Swiftlet (Collocalia troglodytes, a Philippine endemic)

Habitat - Fairly common, smallest swiftlet in groups flying low over forest, clearings and logging roads.

Shooting info - Bued River, Rosario, La Union, Philippines, February 14, 2017, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 f/4 DO II, 400 mm, f/5.0, ISO 320, 1/2000 sec, hand held, major crop.

[Bobby Kintanar]

Wow, that is such a small and fast bird, even by our own Filipino standards, and still you nailed itKa Mastah! Well, no surprise there. Hehehe.

[Romy Ocon]

Thanks, Ka Bobby. This species usually loiters over Bued River around January to February. I'm now into my third year of trying to nail it in flight, but I haven't been too successful yet.